Secret of the Rising Sun
by Redskiez
Summary: The secret of the Akatsuki is out, and they are set off to retrieve it before it falls into their enemy's hands. Their mission takes them to the Land of Akane. TobixDeidara. OCs are necessary as they are the antagonists.
1. Scroll of the Rising Sun

**Secret of the Rising Sun**

**Chapter One - Scroll of the Rising Sun**

* * *

Loud shouting can be heard even from two rooms away from Pein's office. The leader was most definitely pissed off at whatever that's happening inside the room. A low thud sounded when something dull hit the door, followed by shout of "get out!". The door shot open swiftly and out came the infamous zombie pair of the Akatsuki.

"It's all your fucking fault!" Hidan exclaimed the instant he had shut the door behind him. "Your fucking fault that the scroll is stolen before we got there!" He yelled, poking his finger at the side of the already annoyed Kakuzu.

Kakuzu glared his christmas colored eyes at the Jashinist, but said nothing. From where he was observing the entire ordeal, he wasn't sure and assumed the miser had used all his willpower to control his angry outburst. The two continued on down the hallway and headed back to their room, creating a ruckus while they're at it.

Tobi blinked in confusion, despite being relatively good at eavesdropping, he had only caught bits and pieces of the conversation from his position besides the office door. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms, looking things to occupy himself besides waiting for his turn to enter the room of the doom. He and Deidara had been summoned by Konan, saying that Pein needed them at his office as soon as possible. When they had arrived, the door was locked so they waited outside instead.

"Get in." Pein called through the door loudly, waiting patiently -or impatiently, it's always hard to tell when the room is so dark- at his desk with a newly written scroll placed neatly on the middle of his desk. Tobi glanced at Deidara, who had been silent all this time, and entered the room, leaving the door open for the other to enter and close behind. He headed to the desk and stood a few paces in front of it, standing silently and watched the shadowy figure seated behind said desk. He sensed Deidara move and stood besides him, or well, a few paces next to him. The blonde still thinks he was annoying and has yet to trust him fully. Or at least that's what he thinks. He never really asked what Deidara thinks of him honestly, but he's got a pretty good idea. The blonde has been acting strangely though, staying a certain amount of paces away from him, light on his toes and heavy on his guard. It's as if Tobi had offended Deidara in a way and caused this strange isolation, but no matter how hard he thinks and recalls, he had never done anything so serious that caused him to deserve the cold shoulder.

He huffed softly and stole a glance at the blonde. He was focused on whatever Pein was going to say, and his gaze was kept on the red scroll with gold imprinting. Tobi looked at the scroll himself, noticing how royal it is. Gold is only for members of the royal family, and currently, only the Emperor has the right to use such color combinations.

"I want you to read through this scroll." Pein finally said, pushing the scroll and letting it roll across the table and Tobi caught it by instinct. That action must've scared Deidara because the blonde jumped when Tobi leaned forward to stop the scroll from rolling onto the floor. He glanced at the blonde and bowed his head apologetically, standing back up straight while doing so. He lifted up the scroll so he could see it more clearly at the dim lighting. The swirly golden lines formed images of flowers and eventually a dragon. The original _kamon_ had been removed, in it's place is a newly sewed kanji of "shark". The lines weren't gold, but yellow is a close enough replacement. Tobi showed it to Deidara, and they both raised an eyebrow and looked at Pein for an explanation. "It wasn't Kisame. He is on a mission with Itachi at the Mist, which is far away the location of Kakazu and Hidan's mission."

Tobi and Deidara looked at each other, the latter shrugging and motioned for Tobi to open the scroll. The masked nin stared down at the already broken seal and simply slid his finger under the slit, hooking the page and stared to unroll it.

Almost instantly, Tobi and Deidara noticed the neatly written words on the otherwise blank scroll. It read:

"For the members of the Akatsuki that had been ordered to retrieve the scroll of your secrets: your scroll has been stolen upon request of our queen, Tatsumaki-sama. Like we predicted, the scroll is coded and will take a while to decode. Within this time period, our queen had set up a challenge for you. If you can retrieve the scroll before we can decode it, you are welcomed to take it back to your base. However, if you do not, the scroll and all it's secrets will remain with us, and we hold no responsibility to the damages done by spreading all its knowledge.

"Send two of your members to the land of Akane and search for us there. The land is only reachable via sea vessel and any flying objects located above the land will be shot down without hesitation. With best luck, Hosokawa Koketsu and Hosokawa Usagi."

Pein began grumbling, catching the two members' immediate attention. The redhead made a grab at the other scroll and threw it to Tobi, who caught it with his other hand. "Head out **now**." He roared, sending Tobi and Deidara hurrying out the door. The red scroll flapped behind them, as they had left in too much of a hurry to re-roll it properly. They stopped in front of their room, heading inside and grabbing all the necessary things for their mission. Deidara grabbed his two clay pouches and one small one for spare. Tobi rolled up the scroll and stuffed it inside the pocket of his cloak, alongside with the other scroll Pein had threw at him and double checked his weapons pack. He also picked up their two packs and stuffed them with food and drinks, in case they were in need of a meal during their trip and couldn't find any pitstops for food. He also placed in a spare pair of clothes; he knew Deidara wouldn't change into them, but he still packed it in because Konan might pop out of nowhere and scold them both. Especially the masked nin... They aren't in the best of terms currently... Tobi noticed the two strings of coins resting on his nightstand and grabbed them too, they would need the currency.

Once they were ready, the two headed out the Akatsuki hideout before Pein can catch them and yell at them for not having headed out yet. Konan did indeed pop out of nowhere, and left them with a blessing and a hug for Deidara. Tobi shook his head silently, how embarrassing it must be for the blonde, having to endure the over-motherly affection. Sure, the blonde might not have had a mother figure in his life, but still, the man was nineteen years old. They stepped out of the cave and into the dense forest that the Akatsuki hideout was located at. Tobi glanced to his side when he heard a few birds flutter away, causing the leaves to shiver.

"So... What's the plan?" Tobi tilted his head, looking back at Deidara and poking the blonde's cheek. He felt Deidara tense up and he instantly let his hand fall back at his side, not wanting to get a face full of clay bombs; he didn't want to waste Deidara's clay anyway, the mission seemed like it would take a while.

Deidara gritted his teeth, annoyed that Tobi tried to touch him. He shook it off and dug his hands into his open clay pouch. "We'll fly to the nearest harbour, then go and find a vessel headed for Akane, or near it, hmm." He muttered, not even understanding why he would bother and explain this to the idiot of a partner he had; he'll just ask again 5 minutes later! He grunted and began molding the piece of clay resting in his palm. "When we're near the land, we'll steal a small row boat and row to Akane if the ship isn't heading to Akane."

Tobi nodded, not really sure how Deidara came up with that idea in such a short time. Maybe he shouldn't underestimate the blonde anymore! He waited until the clay bird was fully formed before clambering ungracefully on top of the creation, getting a small snicker from the blonde. How rude.

The trip to the nearest harbour was at least a few hours long, the hideout was located in a forest so dense that no one dared to venture into. And thus, they were far away from civilization. Even a walk to the nearest village took at least three hours. Tobi pulled out some _onigiri _that he had packed into his pack when he heard Deidara's stomach rumble with hunger. "Here, senpai, you can eat it." He said, nudging the blonde against the shoulder with the back of his hand. He saw Deidara's fist clench, and got ready for a punch, but the blonde accepted the rice sandwich without any violence. Tobi smiled softly behind his mask and tucked his gloved hands into the meeting of his crossed legs, letting the wind blow his hair at all directions.

They landed when they saw the sea near the horizon, the sun was already on top of their heads. They would walk the rest of the way; people would be wary of a giant white bird with lifeless eyes carrying two people land on the wet wooden deck of the harbour. Tobi stood besides Deidara, acting as if he was distracted by a squirrel on a tree branch munching on some nuts. He let his mind wonder on other things, wondering how the information of the Akatsuki got out anyway. He should consult Zetsu about this, being the spy of the organization, he should know about it if some spy activity has been spotted around base. The masked ninja was so into his thoughts he didn't notice Deidara moving on. He had only ever gotten actually distracted for a few times before. Tobi hurried to follow his young senpai and quickly fell back into pace. He kept a few paces behind the blonde, letting him have a little 'upper hand' at things. He knew about how Sasori treated the younger, so maybe he would do some nice things to the blonde for a change. He stretched while he walked, looking around the scenery. He wasn't actually admiring the lovely green environment, he was just looking for some spies or ANBU.

The walk was very peaceful, nothing attacked them or surprised them. The two passed a nice elderly tea merchant during the small walk, it was very obvious the man was deaf. The elderly man also didn't seem to notice Tobi and Deidara walking by. Tobi sniffed, slipping a gloved hand through his mask and rubbed his nose. He never liked the smell of the sea. Tobi let Deidara lead him, walking around and glancing at the location paper of a ship. Tobi also eavesdropped on other seamen's conversations to know which vessel is set out for Akane or anything near it.

It took a while, but they finally found a good sized ship that was heading near the land of Akane. They made sure the ship had spare row boats before heading to ask the captain if he could give them a ride. The captain, a man in his late 20s with broad shoulders and a square chin, shook his head, pretending to be sorry that he couldn't invite the two members into the ship. He smacked his lips and looked at the blonde suggestively, the look in his eyes told everything to Tobi. It wasn't the first time he had seen people mistake Deidara for female, and he finds them very stupid because Deidara doesn't seem like a female to him. Sure the blonde had long feminine hair, beautiful blue eyes and the skin that had the perfect amount of kisses from the sun; but that doesn't make the artist less male. Tobi cleared his throat to make his presence be known, he felt the captain's angered glare. The masked nin dug his hands into his pack and pulled out a string of coins, he took out six pieces and held them out to the captain. The man raised an eyebrow at the solid golden coins, his chocolate brown eyes shown with greed. It seemed cleared to Tobi that the man wanted both Deidara and the coins. But not if he had anything to say about it. Tobi glared at him with his red gaze and the captain instantly backed down, pocketing the coins and heading back on deck, waving to his crew that there would be two people joining them.

Tobi glanced at Deidara, wondering what he would say after he had just saved him from being raped by the captain. He was disappointed when the blonde only shoved past him and headed up to the ship. He sighed and turned, following the blonde onto the deck. He saw the blonde sitting besides the railing, only now noticing the ship wasn't for any passengers. He moved around the crates of goods and settled down besides the blonde, placing his pack besides him. He looked over at the blonde, noticing how his arms are crossed and his gaze was set upon a random crack on the wet wooden deck. Tobi huffed and reached into his cloak, grabbing at the scroll Pein had thrown at him. He pulled it out and unrolled it, reading the contents. That seemed to catch Deidara's attention because the blonde looked over when he took out the scroll. Maybe the blue eyed teen wants to keep his mind off of the captain.

Tobi got bored quickly when the contents of the scroll just turned out to be details of the mission and the map of the land. He was sure that Pein would've talked about the details instead of writing it neatly on a scroll if he wasn't so pissed off at Kakuzu and Hidan's failure. He handed the scroll over to the blonde, for him to memorize the map or something. He reached into his pack and pulled out a leaf wrapped _dango_, there wasn't any other way to keep the food separated other than the bamboo container for rice. Tobi looked away and pulled his mask up, eating the stick of sweet dumpling. He sighed contently and placed the stick back into his pack. As a ninja, he knew how to use anything and turn them into a deadly weapon, so a normal stick like that could be life saving sometime.

The masked ninja leaned back against the wooden railing and sighed again, looking up at the darkening sky. The ship creaked and rocked, pulling away from the harbour. He watched as land slowly but surely disappeared into the horizon, the sea and the sky merging to become one dark blue mass. The rocking of the ship was becoming almost sickening for the raven, he had to close his eyes and rest them or else he'd empty his stomach of his pervious meals. He needed to find his sea legs soon, or else he would suffer through out the _kami_ knows long trip. His eyes blinked open when he felt someone lean against him. He tried to look down but was only greeted with a mop of golden hair. Tobi blinked in confusion and he nudged the blonde, thinking he had fallen asleep on him; but the response he got was only a deeper nuzzle, and a jab in between the rib.

Tobi saw it almost instantly: the captain was watching from his spot of controlling the ship. Deidara was telling him to continue protecting him, even if it meant to get comfortable with him. The masked nin laughed inwardly, why didn't Deidara just protect himself? He always says that when Tobi tries to protect the blonde from rogues and bandits. "I don't need your protection, hm!" He'd say, "I am old enough to protect myself! I _know_ how to protect myself, maybe you should go and learn how to protect your head before you go and join some organization!"

Tobi frowned a bit at the ending part, even his own mind was being mean to the persona. Granted that Deidara did say that once, during another mission a few weeks back. The blonde seemed to have regretted that the words had escaped his mouth in the first place after he had said it, but it didn't matter, even Tobi hated himself sometimes. Tobi moved to wrap an arm around the blonde, but he was treading on some mighty thin ice when he did. Deidara jabbed him harder between his ribs and Tobi let out a groan, managing a small laugh to shrug it off. The blonde seemed to have viewed the laugh as a challenge since he continued jabbing, with each one harder than the pervious. Tobi let out a small grunt of submission, moving to remove his arm from Deidara's waist. But Deidara only smiled softly and rested back comfortably on Tobi's strong chest, silently breathing in Tobi's scent.

`55

The moon was almost setting when the landmark of Akane showed up through the fog. The captain ordered the crew to rest there and get some sleep before setting out again. They couldn't rest in the middle of a vast ocean in case some current caused them to drift off into the unknown when half the crew members were asleep.

"Lower the sails!" The captain's voice boomed aloud through the silent night, waking Tobi from his slumber. He looked around, too drowsy from sleep to realize what was going on. He yawned and stretched to the best of his ability of a sleeping blonde laying on his chest. Tobi looked up and the _torii_ from high on a nearby mountain caught his eye, he understood what it meant -not it's literal meaning of it's presence signalling a temple- that the land of Akane was near. He sat up, groaning when his back complained. He reached down and grabbed hold of Deidara's shoulders, shaking the blonde. "Wake up, it's time to go." He muttered, watching the crew members scramble around to lower the large canvas to catch the wind. He waited until Deidara stirred from his sleep before standing up, ignoring the groan of disappointment from the blonde.

He stood up and stretched properly, it was too early for him to actually do anything productive or effective. He bent back down and grabbed his pack, placing it over his shoulder and glanced over the crates on the deck. He kneeled down and helped the blonde, who was still dozing off. They had been through nights were they never got any sleep, but when you're allowed to sleep and then rudely awoken to get going again, is the worst. He picked up the blonde's light brown pack and placed it over his shoulder as well, struggling slightly as the combined weight has caught him off guard. How can rice, water and clothes be this heavy?!

Tobi waited slightly and regained his balance before bending down again and picking up the blonde bridal style. He grunted again and sighed, "please wake up soon." He muttered, feeling his sleeping muscles complaining about the added weights. He padded over to the other side of the sea vessel slowly, stopping once and a while when the rock of the ship proved too much to handle. He got to the side of the ship eventually, placing the blonde down against the wooden railing. "Wake up." He grunted, shaking the blonde; he won't be able to pull down a row boat without alerting the crew members, even though it seemed very obvious they seemed very preoccupied with being confused over lowering the sails and helping the captain manoeuvre through the thick fog and to the nearest bank to park.

Tobi received no reaction and response from the blonde, even though he knew Deidara can hear him. "I said wake up." He said again, louder and sterner. Deidara was testing him patience. Tobi stood up straight and grabbed a wet towel nearby. He hovered the towel over Deidara's head and twisted, a spray of cold water dripped from the towel and landed on Deidara's head. The blonde instantly sat up and began shouting at Tobi.

"What the actual fuck?!" He shouted, reaching up and running a head through his now-wet hair. "You knew I could hear you, hm! Why didn't you gave me five more fucking seconds?!" Deidara continued to yell, slapping Tobi's gloved hands away. Even with his loud yelling, non of the crew members seem to notice. Tobi blinked at the swearing, Deidara doesn't usually swear, even if he's throughly pissed off. Maybe he didn't like it when someone messes with his gorgeous hair.

"The boat will be resting near a bank soon, we need to get off now." Tobi replied, tossing the half dried towel away somewhere. He handed Deidara his pack.

"We could've waited until the ship is at rest near the bank, un." Deidara retorted, snatching the bag away from Tobi and flung it over his shoulders.

"They would take turns in patrolling the deck. They'd notice us." Tobi tried to reason with him, he didn't want to drag this any longer, one of the crew members will soon realize what they are doing and stop them.

Deidara looked around the busy deck of half sleeping, half awake seamen. "You think they'd actually keep up their word to the captain and patrol the deck when they could get some precious sleep, yeah? The sleep that I can't have, hm?" He replied, standing up and crossing his arms. Tobi knew the blonde was trying his best at looking down on him, but the height advantage said otherwise.

"It's a risk I'm not willing to take, senpai. Please, just get on the row boat and then you can scold me all you want." Tobi replied, already undoing the ropes that tied the row boat to the main vessel. He held the rope so the row boat won't drop down straight to the sea. "Get in please." He muttered softly, the weight of the boat began straining his sore muscles.

Deidara glanced at him, something flooded beneath his beautiful blue eyes, but Tobi was too busy keeping an eye on the crew members and also straining his sleeping muscles to keep the boat level with the railing, to notice what it really was. He gritted his teeth in effort when Deidara climbed in, adding to the weight. He let out a hiss through his teeth and stepped forward, pulling the rope and wrapping it around the railing. He tugged at it to make sure it'll hold and tied a not. Tobi only let go when he was sure the not was tight enough to hold after he got into the row boat with Deidara. The masked nin let out a huff and hopped over the railing after rebalancing the pack over his shoulder, landing onto the boat. He winced when the boat creaked and the rope gave out a low screech, but he sat down quickly and pulled out a _kunai_. "Get ready." He muttered to Deidara and sliced through the rope with the knife in one swift motion.

The boat plummeted down to the dark sea below, emitted a loud smack and Tobi noticed that the impact knocked the air out of Deidara's lungs. He held back a chuckle and picked up both paddles, placing them on the water and began paddling towards Akane, away from the ship.

`55

Dawn has already broken by the time hey arrived to the harbour. Tobi rested the boat in a cavern behind the deck, hidden from view and steadied the boat for Deidara to climb up. He waited until Deidara was sure no one noticed them before climbing up with ease, as if he had done it a thousand times. He looked around and was suprised at how populated the land was. It was an entire city! He scanned around and noticed there was a lot of mountains; Akane was just simply a clot of little islands.

"Okay." Tobi cleared his throat, catching Deidara's attention. He was tired; his arms ached and his eyes feel like they're on fire. He was sure Deidara felt sore because he fell asleep on a rocky, hard and uncomfortable row boat, which knocks the blonde's head against hard oak wood each time a wave passes through. "Should we get some rest first? To fill our stomachs and read the mission details?" He suggested, his throat hurt from using the high pitched Tobi voice. His throat feel a bit perched too; he didn't get to stop his arms during the row boat trip to get a drink.

Deidara nodded in agreement and began heading into the city to find an inn. Tobi followed him silently and rubbed the sore muscles of his arm. He looked up as he walked, noticing the tall buildings and rope bridges connecting them to each one. He watched as the bridges creak but still remain intact as people walked on them to get to the other side. Scratching his head, he hurried his footsteps to catch up to Deidara, since he had lagged behind from being distracted with the city's builds.

He had never went to places this crowded; the hidden villages pale in comparison to this city. Everywhere he looked was filled with people. Tobi noticed an inn at the corner of his eye, he grabbed Deidara's shoulder, receiving a few insults and death threats as he guided the blonde to the inn.

_"Mugetsu City Inn"_

Tobi glanced at the inn name, taking note that the city they were in was called Mugetsu. He headed inside and was greeted by the fresh scent of rice, wine and wood. Deidara broke away from Tobi's grip and headed to sit down with his legs crossed on one of the empty tables, leaning on it with his elbows as he sighed, the cushion giving great pleasure to his sore legs. The worn table let out a creak, but it didn't collapse. Tobi glanced at the blonde in annoyance, but remembered that he couldn't see his face. He shook his head and headed to the inn owner, each one of his footsteps causing a loud creak on the old and worn wooden flooring. "Excuse me," He said, getting the attention of the old man behind the counter. The man blinked in surprise and smiled at him, quickly stowing away the precious china bowl he was polishing and headed over to the masked nin.

"How may I be of service?" He asked, bowing lightly. The man stole a few glances at the newcomer, confused at his horrible fashion. Who wears a black cloak with red clouds?

Tobi cleared his throat, using his normal voice instead of his Tobi one. Deidara was far enough away to not hear him. "I want two bowls of _ramen_, please. Also... Do you have any bamboo containers of rice and jugs of water? That would be extremely helpful." He said, reaching into his pocket to pull out one of his strings of gold coins.

The inn owner was about to protest about the order until his eyes caught the familiar gleam of golden coins. He smiled and hid the greed from his eyes. "Of course! We'll have them delivered to your table. The _sencha_ is on the house." He grinned, standing up straight and rubbing his small mustache with his fingers.

Tobi nodded, taking out a couple gold coins and placed them on the counter. The innkeeper greedily took the coins, motioning for a young girl, who Tobi assumed was his daughter, to take them. "Also, do you have two rooms to rent for the night?" He asked.

The innkeeper shook his head, "my greatest apologizes. All of our rooms are all taken."

Tobi tch'd inwardly, taking out another few gold coins of his string and placed them on the counter. No matter where he goes, the world still values money.

The innkeeper's eyes lit up again. "Oh! I just remembered one of our customers gave up his room. You can use that one. It's one of our finest."

"Do you have _two_ rooms?" Tobi asked again, his hand resting on the counter as his patience for this greedy old man begins to dwindle by the second.

"Really sorry, but we are fully booked up and I can only juice out one room for you. I'm pretty sure you can share a room with your lovely lady." The innkeeper said, eyes motioning towards Deidara and scooped up the coins on his counter. "Now would you excuse me, I'll go tell my chefs to prepare your food."

Tobi sighed, knowing he couldn't 'reason' with the old innkeeper anymore. He headed back towards the table and stuffed the coins back into his cloak pocket, glancing at the blonde and deciding he would hold his tongue from the blonde about the female remark once again. He knew Deidara has gotten used to it by now, but something told him if he told Deidara about him being remarked about being 'his lovely lady', he would flip out and destroy the entire city.

They waited for a while in a suffocating silence between them. Tobi had been too busy distracting himself with the inn's noisy conversations from other customers to notice Deidara staring at him. He only looked up when their _ramen_ had arrived at their table, as well as four bamboo containers of rice and two jugs of water, as the innkeeper had promised. He took the food and pocketed them into his pack. He also picked up the key to their room.

Tobi picked up his chopsticks and turned away from the blonde. He pushed his mask to the side and began eating the noodles and his stomach felt grateful of the warm food. It wasn't like he needed to eat, but it would be strange not to when Deidara was starving. The blonde would only assume Tobi felt the same.

After they had finished their meal, and Tobi's mask moved back into the correct place on his face. Tobi looked at the blonde as he finished his tea. "So, senpai." He said, using his squeaky voice. His throat felt better, but it still stung when he used the childish voice. "The innkeeper said there was only one room... So I hope you wouldn't mind sharing." He said, his voice getting softer near the end. He didn't want Deidara to throw bombs at him.

Deidara was obviously displeased by the news, but he shrugged it off. "Fine, hm. Just this night. If the ones we go to in the future have the same problem, then you're sleeping on the streets, un." He grunted, feeling guilty of saying the last part. He stood up and dusted himself off, even though he knew there was no way any dirt has gotten onto his cloak during the meal.

Tobi nodded, "okay, senpai." He muttered, stifling a yawn and stretched. He stood up as well and began heading towards the stairs, where the inn rooms are located at. It was a good thing this was a traditional Japanese inn, or else they might be forced to share a bed.

They arrived at their room and unlocked the door. The innkeeper wasn't joking when he said that this room was one of their finest. The room was decorated in _washi _paper walls, inked on them were designs of dragons and tigers, as well as flowers and trees. On the closet was a drawing of a crane, matching perfectly to the room. Both of them headed inside of the room and set down their packs at the corner of the room, they took off their shoes as well. The luggage space was matted with a lovely white sheet, soft and cool to the touch, probably made from silk. They treaded on the _tatami _matted floor and Deidara headed to the bathroom, while Tobi stayed in the main room to continue to admire the decorations.

There was a desk at the side, the chair was red with golden linings. _Must be very expensive_, Tobi shook his head, the royal coloring wasn't supposed to be used by any of the common people. He ignored the chair and headed towards the closet, sliding it open and noticing the two extra _kimonos_ with no _kamon_. They could use that, if the organization they're supposed to track down already knew the Akatsuki's trademark cloak looked like. They don't seem to know which member was which, though Tobi wasn't going to take any chances. Maybe they had the bingo book, then Deidara would need to be extra careful. Tobi doesn't need to worry about that though, he wasn't on the bingo book, and he hoped it'll stay that way. It has, still has and will continue to save him from trouble of bounty hunters.

Tobi sighed, kneeling down and pulled out two _futons_, there was a long day ahead of them.

+++  
End of Chapter One  
+++

* * *

Hey guys, Red here!

Aha, this story was meant to be finished and posted up on February 10th, the fifth year anniversary of me shipping TobiDei as an OTP. When I missed it, I thought to myself that I would finish it and post it up on February 14th, for Valentines Day; then write at the end that it was for the anniversary as well.

When both of those dates passed, I decided to be an lazy ass and took my sweet ass time with finishing it and ended up going past 5000 words. I'm pretty shocked, though it wouldn't surprised me since I had went and dragged out the ending. So here you go, my fifth anniversary of shipping TobiDei and Valentines Day fic. Yay!

Sorry I haven't posted anything for my fifth year anniversary and Valentines Day. I was going through this weird phase where I started hating at whatever I wrote and thought it wasn't good enough. I felt pathetic and stopped reading and writing all together, not wanting to disappoint myself again and again.

I'm still in this phase, and I really don't want to read through my horrible writing to check for any spelling mistakes, extra words, missing words, awkward sentences so on and so forth. Right now, I really want to smash my computer and delete the entire thing. What is wrong with me? I really want to end this self hate thing, because I have no tolerance with other things in my life.

Also, I got my report card on the 28th, it wasn't as bad as I expected, but it wasn't as good either. More self hatred on that. My mother wouldn't sign the reply slip if I don't say anything about it. What should I say if she doesn't ask me a question? "I'm sorry I didn't get good grades?" Wow, guess how many times I said that? Oh, I don't know. 4 times? I'm not going to say the 5th time, since saying that won't do anything to improve my grades.

Also also, I'm hungry. Parents are out to grab our pizza but I CAN'T FUCKING WAIT. I'M SO HUNGRY UGH.

Also also also, I _am_ writing the second chapter right now.

Also also also also, I have not promised to upload the second chapter of Resurrection anytime soon, though I have started it.

Japanese glossary (alphabetical order):

_dango _- Japanese dumpling and sweet_  
futon_ - traditional Japanese bedding_  
kami _- god_  
kamon_ - family crest; usually placed on _kimonos.  
kimono _- traditional Japanese garment_  
kunai _- small dagger; typically used by ninja_  
onigiri_- rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and often wrapped in seaweed.  
_ramen_ - noodle soup dish  
_sencha_ - green tea  
_tatami_ - floor matting  
_torii_- traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine  
_washi_ - style of paper from Japan


	2. Stroll of the Rising Sun

**Secret of the Rising Sun**

**Chapter Two - Stroll of the Rising Sun**

* * *

Tobi yawned when the sunlight seeped through the windows blinds and soaked the area in his general location. He glared daggers at the blinds, willing it to catch fire since it isn't doing it's own job correctly. He sighed, sitting up and decided to ignore the reason why he was disrupted from his rest. He run a sleep-numb hand through his hair and sniffed, looking at the sleeping figure beside him. His neck ached from the movement, and he stifled a groan incase that would wake the blonde. His body felt heavy, each of his limbs weighing him down, like the body does not belong to him.

He sighed again and leaned back down. His muscles still ached, but they were thankfully numbed by sleep. Tobi laid there for what seemed like hours before he finally decided he should wake up and take a shower. Then he would wake up the blonde.

Tobi stood up and rolled up his _futon_, placing it neatly at the side of the room. He shuffled towards the neatly folded _kimono_ placed on the _tatami_; he placed it there the night before. He picked up his brown one and headed towards the bathroom, eager to be in the warm embrace of the water.

Even when the masked nin came out of the bathroom from his shower, Deidara was still sleeping soundly on his bedding. _'Dead to the world, huh?'_ Tobi thought, smiling softly behind his mask. He stopped denying it after a few weeks: Deidara looked his age when he sleeps. Peaceful and innocent. Not the person you'd expect to wreck places with his special clay bombs. He doesn't always get to watch Deidara sleep, though he would when the opportunity rises. It seemed creepy, doesn't it? Tobi doesn't agree though, he was sure many people would pay to see him being at peace in the land of slumber.

Tobi sighed through his nose, finally breaking his gaze from Deidara's face. He headed to the closet and took out the two _kimonos_ without _kamons,_ placing them into each of their respective packs. Tobi folded his clothes neatly and placed them inside of his pack as well. He did the same with both of their cloaks.

Once he was done packing, he finally headed to the blonde, having already done everything he could to give the blonde more time to sleep than necessary. Tobi kneeled down, taking a few more moments to enjoy the blonde's peaceful face. He placed a hand gently on Deidara's shoulder, shaking it slightly, "wake up, senpai." He whispered softly, retracting his hand when Deidara whined. "Top of the morning." He said again, trying to wake the blonde.

Deidara yawned, smacking his lips and shoving the masked nin away. "Five more minutes, hm..." He muttered, rolling onto his side with his back facing Tobi.

"No five more minutes, senpai, we need to give the room back by 11." He said, his eyebrows furred. "Wake up!" He dragged out the words, shaking the blonde again.

"Okay okay, hm!" Deidara shouted, blushing the faintest. He covered it up by rubbing his eyes. "Go get breakfast while I shower, hm." He muttered, standing up a little too quickly and stumbled a bit. He grabbed his light blue _kimono_ and headed to the bathroom, not hiding his eagerness to get out of the same room as Tobi.

Tobi sighed, standing back up and headed downstairs to the innkeeper for breakfast.

He carried the two plates of breakfast back up to the room. It was a traditional breakfast, so it continued steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, _tamagoyaki_ and _natto_.

He placed them on the small table in the middle of the room and sat down on the cushion. Tobi noticed Deidara was already out of the shower and was drying his hair with an extra towel. At least they weren't back at base, where Tobi would most likely be the one responsible for fishing out strands of long golden hair out of the drain since they'll clot it up. He shivered at the memory of wet hair, absolutely disgusting. It was a good thing he had a strong stomach or else he might lose his apatite.

Tobi waited until Deidara was seated before picking up his chopsticks, once again turning away to eat his breakfast. He finished his meal and wiped his mouth with the provided napkin. It wasn't like he's gotten any food on his mouth, it just seemed natural. He looked up at Deidara, who was focused on his bowl of rice and munching on his _tamagoyaki_. He let out a sigh through his nose and leaned back, looking upwards at the ceiling. Only now did he realize the room was dim, a perfect lighting for someone to continue sleeping, instead of getting ready to look for two people named Koketsu and Usagi.

Just by the men's names he could tell their huge difference. Koketsu seemed like a man that is as dangerous as his name. His name meant tiger, or danger. Someone Tobi wouldn't want to hang out around. But Usagi seemed like a man that is tame and fun to be around, maybe even childish, like the Tobi persona. He smirked to himself, did he just compare someone he doesn't know with a person that didn't exist? He scoffed inwardly and moved on from that topic. Judging by their family names, it seemed like the two were related. Though he wasn't just about ready to jump to conclusions that they were brothers.

Deidara finished his breakfast silently, focusing his gaze at Tobi as he spaced out. Tobi seemed to space out more frequently these days, but who was he to judge? This is Tobi we are talking about, someone who is full of surprises.

Tobi stifled a yawn and sat up straight, noticing that the blonde had finished eating. "Oh!" He said, clasping his gloved hands together. "It's time to go now." He said, standing up and heading to grab the twos traveling packs. "Can senpai get me some _sencha_ while I return the room?" Tobi asked, tilting his head slightly and handing Deidara's bag back to him. Deidara nodded and took the bag, heading downstairs to get two cups of _sencha_ from the innkeeper.

Tobi sighed and followed the blonde out after a few seconds, locking the door behind him. He headed downstairs and returned the key to the old innkeeper, dropping a gold coin in payment for the tea, since Deidara wouldn't have any currency on him to pay for the drink. The greedy innkeeper took the coin gratefully and quickly told his chefs to not spit into the mens' tea.

`55

Tobi headed out of the inn, pushing away the fabric outside the _shoji_ door. He waited for Deidara to come out as he took a deep breath, enjoying the sun's warmth. Judging by the position of the sun, he would say it was only 9. The day is still young, they could cover a lot of ground today. None of them know where to look for Koketsu and Usagi, or where this 'queen' Tatsumaki is located. But they would try their luck and head to the central temple, the Temple of Rangetsu. It seemed like the temple and the city they were in right now is the complete opposite of each other, and thus would make much sense that they were at the very edge of the land. Tobi was right, when the map of the land showed that the Temple of Rangetsu was at the very far end of the land of Akane. They could skip a lot of time by walking on the water, but the civilians would notice, and it would be the least of their interest to tell Koketsu and Usagi where they are; anyone with a brain would know they are going to hide from the Akatsuki and spread its secret. Only thing that couldn't get past his mind was why this Tatsumaki would want to set up this challenge.

Tatsumaki seemed like a dangerous woman. Since she could be the queen of something, she must be a tough challenge. Her personality might be like her name suggests, a tornado. Maybe she was like Tsunade. Tobi shook his head, he would worry about her when the time comes.

Tobi let Deidara lead. They had already discussed about where to go and how to get there before they went to sleep last night. Their plan was to head to the Highland Village, Aozora and then to Natsu villa just down below the mountain. It would be a long trip, but the Land of Akane isn't small. It's a good thing that it isn't big either, they would probably take years to find them if it was.

The masked nin looked up at the mountain across the river, the Aozora Highland Village seems just like a speck of dust in the far horizon. He ran a gloved hand through his midnight black hair and turned back to sneak a glance at the blonde, noticing the blonde had already went ahead towards the bridge that would bring them across the river. Tobi tilted his head and hurried his pace to keep up with the blonde. He dodged a few carts and boxes that were on their way to the city's markets, almost running into horses while trying to dodge their cargos. "Wait up, senpai!" Tobi called, though he wasn't sure if the blonde had heard him through the buzzing city crowd. He decided he would just keep his eyes at the artist's blonde hair and try not to lose him in such a busy crowd.

Tobi finally set foot on the red wooden bridge, it creaked when he and Deidara stepped on it. It seemed like no matter where you put your footing, the wooden floorboards would still creak in protest. Tobi would only assume that the bridge had a rather long history.

They passed the bridge without running into anymore problems; expect for the two children that kept running back and forth on the bridge, holding something in their hands. Tobi decided he would take the lead, as he assumed the blonde has never been to anywhere busier than the Hidden Village in Rock. Tobi kept his pace slow, partly afraid that the blonde would lose sight of him, and partly afraid that he might get lost himself; he is after-all, in a new and unfamiliar place. He has never heard of the Land of Akane until this mission.

Tobi walked in a rhythmic pace, glancing over his shoulder once and a while to make sure the blonde behind him is still within his sights. The walk wasn't extremely eventful, only a few occasional playing children, and some poor merchants that practically beg for customers to exchange just the tiniest gold for their goods, that distract the masked man only the slightest during the stroll.

They finally arrived to the final path that would take them to the Highland Village, though time was running out. The sun was already on top of their heads and they needed to find all the information they need before the sun sets. They still have to travel towards the summer villa at the end of their day. Tobi shivered, despite the cool mountain air blowing through his thin cloak, he doesn't feel cool at all. With all the pressure on his shoulder weighting like twice the size of the island Aozora Village rests upon, he feels like he could just lie on the floor and let the responsibility suffocate him, at least in death he could find some peace. How deeply he wanted right about now, to have the Tobi persona to be true. How could someone be so carefree, so childish and innocent, so oblivious and find all the simple and pure happiness in every single little speck in the world, when they are living in a world of constant war? Perhaps Tobi does live in him somewhere, buried deep in a place he never wants to visit and relive again. But something hesitates him from destroying the personality completely, something other than the girl in his childhood.

Deidara.

He sighed, slowing his pace until he walks beside the blonde, shoulder to shoulder. Deidara doesn't seem to mind now, maybe he has forgiven the raven for what he had done; which, to remind himself, he has no memories of whatsoever. He walks slowly on the gravel path, the first buildings of the village within sight. Tobi listened to each crunch of their footsteps, unconsciously synchronizing his own with the blondes. Ultimately the sound of shoe against gravel is gone, and were replaced with the sound of familiar wooden floorboards. Tobi wondered briefly why the villagers would still lay the road with wooden boards. Gravel and dirt seemed to be doing just fine back at their land. But when he noticed the rocky and rough earth beside the wooden planks, and most of the villagers walk in thin straw sandals and even barefoot, he realized the floorboards were just there to save villagers from painful feet and blisters.

Tobi glanced at the blonde and nodded, they would go their separate ways now; to eavesdrop on conversations and ask questions about the people that were mentioned in the scroll. Tobi never liked this part, he never liked talking to strangers, but it could not be avoided if he wanted to get the scroll.

`55

Tobi sighed, sitting down at a bench outside outdoor restaurant, the one near the spot where they split up to find information. He had gotten as much information as he could, the villagers seemed hesitant of telling an outsider things. By the way children react to his oblivious knowledge of who 'Tatsumaki-sama' is, he assumed everyone knows who she is. And she seemed to have a rather strong hold over them, wether it is from trust or treat, he doesn't know.

He also overheard a few young villagers talking about how their 'queen' needed a person to help her, to decode something. He grimaced at that, he thought Tatsumaki was decoding it already! If she had just dragged them out here for fun, then he will never let her see another sunrise. Tobi mumbled curses beneath his breath and looked up: the sun isn't far from it's resting spot of the west, so that meant they had less than 5 hours before the sun sets completely and the sky goes dark on them. He held back another curse. Where was Deidara?

The masked nin sat there for _kami_ knows how long when the blonde decided to show up. He was carrying something as he walked towards the raven, his pace relaxed and not in a hurry. Tobi almost wanted to go and shake some sense into the blonde, the secret of their organization has been leaked out, and he still has the mood to go shopping?! He shook his head inwardly, biting back a shout of frustration as he sat patiently on the wooden bench, waiting for the blonde to approach. He kept his head tilted, pretending to be fascinated by something completely random, like a fallen leaf.

"Don't bother, I know you know I'm here, hm."

The blonde's deep voice forced his head to look forward. Had Deidara always known that he was pretending half the time? He bit back a sharp response, something he has always done. But he wasn't him right now, he was Tobi, the fake him. Instead he tilted his head without giving the blonde any verbal reply. That usually does the trick when he has nothing but sarcasm dipped snappy response to reply.

He heard the blonde sigh and settle down on the bench beside the masked man. Tobi glanced at his side, or at least to the best of his ability when there is a orange mask in front of your face. He tilted his head again, though this time it was fueled with true curiosity, again something he wanted to conceal and destroy, but Deidara got in the way. All he could see from his position was Deidara's knees, hands and the bag.

"Here," Deidara muttered, reaching into the bag and taking out a _sata andagi_, a sweet, deep fried bun of dough. Tobi peered into the bag when he reached in, noticing all the snacks the blonde had bought; _daifuku_, _manjū_, _taiyaki_ and _uirō_, all kinds of traditional snacks. They had plenty of food, why does Deidara need to get sweets? It was a waste of space, time and money. He shook his head in dismay when he realized Deidara had stolen a few coins from his string to get these goods; he should've realized that Deidara was good a pickpocketing too. Or did he do it when he went down to grab breakfast this morning? He didn't know, and right now, it doesn't really matter. Taking in a deep breath, he took the bun and held it in his gloved hand, not sure what to do. He wasn't hungry, in fact, he wasn't capable of feeling hungry; wasn't suppose to feel hungry.

"It's a snack, dumbass. Eat it, hm." Deidara said, giving the raven a weird stare as he reached inside and grabbed another _sata andagi_ to eat. He bit into the doughnut like bun as he added, "and don't look away when you lift your mask up to eat. It's not like just your mouth would tell the entire world what you look like, un." He muttered and forced his voice as flat as he could, thankful that it came out even and normal.

Tobi raised an eyebrow at him behind his mask, this wasn't the time to have a tea break. But he knew if he argued, he wouldn't sound Tobi; it was often Tobi that requested breaks when they obviously don't need one. So he shrugged it off and looked at the bun. The snack looked nice enough, fried just at the right temperature and taken out at the right time. He also got confused over Deidara's statement of him turning away each time to eat; he thought the blonde had already accepted that fact. Shrugging his reply, he pulled his mask up just a little, enough to reveal his mouth, but not enough to reveal his nose. He thought he heard Deidara sigh in relief, though he wasn't sure, the wind carrying away the sigh. Tobi lifted his gloved hand and sank his teeth into the soft bun, the flavors overwhelms his senses until the bun is all that he can taste.

He was aware of Deidara's glances, no matter how good the blonde thinks he is hiding it. If he ever starts questioning his "acting curious" skills, he has a role model by his side to learn from; Deidara was acting like some curious kitten, it was cute and annoying at the same time, though the cuteness drowns out the annoyance most of the time. Tobi hurriedly finished off his bun, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when he was done with it. He reached up and pushed his mask down, ignoring Deidara's failed attempt to stifle is groan of disappointment. "It's time to go now, senpai." He said, motioning at the sky. They had less than 4 hours to get down to the Natsu villa now, and they still had to snoop around for information.

Deidara looked reluctant to go, but he stood up anyway, brushing off bread crumbs that landed on his lap during his meal. He nodded his head toward the path down the mountain, motioning for Tobi to take the lead as he enjoys the remaining _sata andagi_ on the way. Tobi shook his head, if the blonde ate so much now, he wouldn't have the stomach to eat a normal meal, it would be very unhealthy. He headed down the road without any question, watching as the wooden floorboards fade back out into gravel and dirt.

`55

Once the two Akatsuki members arrived to the summer villa, Tobi looked up at the sky to check the time. The walk down had been faster, since going downhill never uses too much energy. But the heat from the sun still proved too much for the masked man and he needed to drink water to stop himself from dehydrating.

They had 3 hours left for information seeking, then they would have to devote their time into finding an inn. Tobi sighed and turned to look at the blonde, who had finished his buns and began munching on some _daifuku_, licking some _anko_ off his lips when he got some smeared on them. He blinked at him and pointed at the upper left side of the blonde's lip. "You've got something over there..." He muttered, lowering his hand when Deidara realized and tried to lick it away. He failed though, as his tongue seemed just a millimeter out of reach. Tobi didn't know what to do, he just stood there and watched Deidara struggle.

"Why don't you use your hand mouth to lick it?" He asked childishly, lifting his mask to get a drink of water from his jug.

"Because, they are for art, not food!" Deidara almost shouted, but kept his volume low enough to not startle any passerby. "I already have trouble keeping them from eating shampoo once and a while, I'm not going to encourage them to lick something off my own mouth, hm."

"Oh. So senpai doesn't make out with himself?" Tobi laughed at his own joke, making kissing noises and pushed his mask back down.

Deidara's face flushed. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, forgetting that he still have a half finished glutinous rice cake in his hand. "I do not make out with myself, hm!" He roared, throwing the cake down onto the dirt road. The bun kicked up some dust on the wooden floorboards, though the dust settled down after a while.

Tobi backed away from the blonde, his hands raised into the air in submission. Deidara seemed to calm down at that, but still punched the raven in the arm. Tobi jerked away from the pain and whined, "that was mean, senpai!" He called, rubbing the spot where Deidara hit him. The blonde only huffed and crossed his arms, feeling angry at himself for ruining a perfectly good rice cake.

Tobi stopped rubbing his arm and glanced at the blonde, was he still angry at him? He seemed to have warmed up to him quite the amount earlier. And this was just fooling around kind of angry, not the burning anger a few months ago when the artist threatened to end his life with his beautiful yet deadly clay sculptors. "You still have a little something on the corner of your mouth." He said, glancing at the red bean paste.

"Well, in case you couldn't see from that mask of yours, I couldn't reach it, hm. So you would just have to deal with it being there until I can find a napkin to wipe it off, un." Deidara replied, uncrossing his arms and brushing off his cloak. Out of habit, probably.

The masked man frowned, his obsessive compulsive disorder made him want to just wipe it off. He wasn't a cleanaholic, he just wanted to make sure things that aren't suppose to be on certain things to not be there. Tobi took off his glove and reached up, wiping the _anko_ off the blonde's lip and then licking his fingers clean. He wasn't sure why he did it in the first place, but he did and he doesn't know if he should be happy for the action or regret it.

Deidara blinked in surprise when Tobi cleaned his lip and blushed when he licked it clean. He lowered his head to let his hair curtain his face and hide his blush. "I'm going to ask more about the people we heard, hm." He mumbled, trying to calm himself. "We'll meet back here."

Tobi raised an eyebrow at the blonde, putting the glove back on. The blonde hid the blush in extreme carefulness, like he had done it a thousand times. He also noticed that Deidara was nervous, since he only said "hm" once in that reply. He shrugged it off and went away, eavesdropping on more conversations. Though it would be difficult now, since it was getting late and people were getting ready to head home.

`55

Tobi headed back to the spot he and Deidara had split up, his head buzzing with new information. Someone in this villa area was leaving to Tatsumaki, helping to decode the scroll she had acquired. He paced around, should they follow the man? They would know where the organization's hideout would be. Would it be wise? The man said he would leave early morning tomorrow, after he says goodbye to his wife and visit his parents' grave. He lifted his gloved hand to his mouth, at least where his mouth would be if he doesn't have his mask in front of his face. He found himself wanting to bite his nails. He should've sorted this bad habit out, gnawing at his on his nails proved to backfire on him since they leave bitten and bloody finger beds. It doesn't do much of a good job calming him down. Tobi noticed his partner heading over, so he lowered his hand and shook his head to clear his head. He would have to leave the man alone.

He nodded at the blonde, saying nothing as they walked down the wooden path. It would seem weird that he isn't saying anything, not quite the Tobi character, but he didn't care right now. He walked besides the blonde, heading towards the main building of the villa -the actual place where you sleep. They walked on the wooden bridge, passing an impressive looking overhang of a mountain. The top of the rock was covered in grass and moss, vines hanging down from the edge. _Sakura_ trees dotted randomly on top, raining pink petals down onto the sea below. There were artificial lights hanging from below the overhang, casting a warm and yellow glow onto the blue sea. The building in front of them stood out like a sore thumb. It was among the biggest thing Tobi has ever seen in his life.

Lights seeped through the _washi_ papers that covered the windows, dimming the already weak candlelight inside the building. They walked towards the building, heading down some flights of stairs in the tower that was connected to the bridge. Tobi walked slowly as the wooden path turned into smoothed down cobblestone, the sides of the road filled with twinkling lighting bugs, which flashed in a heartbeat like rhythm. He looked at the side, seeing a pond. The pond had a few lili-pads, numerous _sakura_ petals floated with them. Sand framed the light blue pond, making it stand out even in such a dim lighting. The pond eventually turned into a waterfall as the edge of the cliff cut off half of the pond. Cicadas sang, filling the silent night with their music. The breeze blew gently, carrying the incest's song all over the world.

They climbed the set of stairs that led into the building. The room was much more modern like. Tobi was much more used to this. He made his way to the counter, to ask the man for two rooms, hopefully this time the building would have two spare rooms instead of just one. But Deidara stopped him and headed to the counter. Tobi thought it was strange, since he did most of this work ever since Deidara decided that the masked man wasn't going to just stand there with his guard wide open for an enemy to attack. When he proved himself, he also proved himself worthy of asking for two rooms.

He headed to the lobby area, admiring the neat decorations. The people here decided to take huge amounts of effort and sculpt each and one of the wooden support pillars inside the building, they also took the time to line one side of the wall with bamboo, and the kanji of 'Natsu' carved in each and single one.

When Deidara came back with a key, Tobi was sitting on a cushion and looking at the flickering candlelight. He was a bit too into his thoughts though, as he failed to notice the blonde was tapping him on the shoulder. Tobi almost let out a squeak of pain when Deidara pinched his shoulder, getting his attention instantly. "They only had one room, hm." The artist said, turning away without anymore explanation and started to head toward the wooden stairs that would take them to the upper levels of the hotel.

Tobi would have believed him if the building seem more crowded, despite the place being half deserted, save for some elderly couples who are sitting besides some open windows and enjoying the night view and warm breeze. He would also believe him if Deidara knew how to deliver a lie, he said it too fast and it sounded more like snapping than stating a fact. The bomber's speech impediment sounded forced. It was to his notice that when the blonde is nervous, his speech impediment would go away. He shook his head inwardly, why would Deidara lie about the hotel only having one room available?

They headed upward and Tobi let Deidara lead to their room, he waited as the blonde unlocked the door. He never liked to share a room with anyone, his own company was enough. Deidara finally got the door open and entered the room, Tobi followed him in and placed his bag in the corner of the room, right beside the blonde's.

He watched as the blonde sat down on the _tatami_ matted floor, taking the bag of snacks with him and began eating its contents. Deidara didn't even ask for dinner, so that meant the blonde was making snacks as his main meal. He would go on and rant to the blonde that it wasn't healthy, but he couldn't bother. The bomber had a rather incredible sweet tooth, if he says something about it, he was sure that he would get a face full of clay and get bombed into oblivion.

He went into the closet and pulled out two _futons_ again, just like he did last night back at the inn. Tobi unrolled it carefully and patted the padding when he was done. "Are you going to take a shower first or am I?" He asked, turning his head slightly to address the blonde.

The sculptor hardly acknowledged the masked nin, only humming as he ate his _imagawayaki_, getting red bean paste all over his mouth. Tobi sighed, looking away before he felt compelled to go and clean the blonde up. He grabbed his clothes and headed to the showers, eager to clean himself from the day's sweat.

`55

Tobi walked back out of the showers, feeling fresh from the water's warm embrace. He scanned the room for Deidara, who had left the bag of snacks and sweets on a desk. It seemed like he didn't actually eat the entire bag, most of the desserts remain. For the next day, probably. He headed over to the artist, who was sitting on his _futon_ and reading a scroll or something.

"Are you going to take a shower?" He asked when he got near, placing his clothes beside his pillow, so he can get easy access to it in the morning. He noticed the blonde was reading the scroll Koketsu and Usagi left for Hidan and Kakuzu to find when the zombie duo was originally sent to retrieve the scroll that contained sensitive information about them. He would be angry to see this mocking challenge instead of their secrets, so he understood why Pein was so furious. He sat down on his own bedding, crossing his legs in front of him and wedging his hands at the part where his legs met. "What are you thinking?"

"Thinking that if I know exactly what these two looked like, I would turn them into a masterpiece of art, yeah. Make them one of my most spectacular art, hmm." Deidara muttered, glaring daggers at their name. "I'll take a shower in the morning, un." He replied to Tobi's first question when he realize it was still left hanging.

"Let's not get too over our heads now." Tobi tilted his head, trying to calm the blonde down. "They were probably just ordered to do so. Maybe they didn't want to do it."

"The Usagi person, maybe, hm. I heard from the villagers that Koketsu was really annoying, un," He paused and added, "more annoying than you."

"Oh." Tobi blinked, not expecting the comment. He wasn't sure if he should take it as a compliment or as an insult. He shrugged it off as just a simple statement and decided to start sharing information now. Actually having something to talk with the blonde is not something that happens everyday, he only ever exchanges a few jokes and apologizes with him. "Well, I overheard a few conversations, they say that the leader, or queen, Tatsumaki needed a person who was good with codes to help decode the scroll. The villagers seemed eager to serve their queen." He said, scratching the back of his head, "I thought there was supposed to be a _daimyo_ ruling this land, not some queen I never heard of..."

Deidara had nothing to say to the ending statement, but he had a lot to say about his earlier one. "Going to help? I thought that bitch was already decoding the scroll, hm!" He threw the scroll away without bothering to roll it back up. "I only thought we came here to get it back before she decodes it, not come here then wait for her to decode it half way before jumping her, hm!" Tobi thought it was strange that Deidara didn't think about tailing the man. It was among the first things he thought when he heard about it too. Though he doubted a commoner like him would actually know the location to Tatsumaki's hideout, it doesn't seem logical for the female to tell the villagers everything. Even if her reputation here shows that she is like the guardian or protector of this land, doesn't mean she can go tell the entire population where her hideout is. Maybe she had another place, a place where everyone can go, but doesn't reveal the location to her true hideout.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too... Except..." Tobi placed his hand on his chin, rubbing it softly as he thought. A thought drifted through his mind, too horrible to keep it under. "Maybe she fished us out, into her territory, so she can play a game with us, tire us out and eventually capture us to her hideout. Maybe the original scroll, said to contain our secrets, doesn't contain it at all! And all she's trying to do is to take real members and torture them until they spill."

Deidara was silent, not sure why and how Tobi could think of this. He just sat there, mouth gapped.

"Oh! I'm just kidding, senpai. There's no way." No way because non of the members know the real reason why they are capturing the tailed beasts. Sure they are told that the tailed beasts could help conquer the world or whatever, but that was only half the truth. Tobi would rather die a horrible and dishonorable death than betray his part of the deal.

Deidara just shook his head and leaned down on his _futon_, crossing his arms under his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Well... Anyway, I asked around and I got the general description of how Koketsu looks like, un. They say he never wears his mask like he's supposed to, yeah."

"Well, that makes it easier for us." He shrugged, "what about Usagi?"

"No one knows what he looks like, but they say he's a mousy like boy, he always hangs behind Koketsu, hm. They say he's hard to miss even if he tries his hardest to hide."

"Okay then. Well, I'm going to call it a night. Goodnight, senpai!" Tobi said, a cheer in his voice as he leaned down onto his bedding as well, burying his masked face against the cool pillow and pulled the covers over himself, falling asleep almost instantly.

+++  
End of Chapter Two  
+++

* * *

Hey guys, Red here!

Woo! 6,090 words, yeah! (I find it difficult to remember Deidara's speech impediment.)

Oh a more serious note, I had been feeling rather ill the past few days, so the chapter took longer than it should have. I actually would've gotten this uploaded a few days earlier if not for my illness. I still feel a little ill, though it is much better than before.

Also, I have a prefect interview at 7:45am tomorrow! Way too early. I shouldn't really be up right now, I should be sleeping so I can wake up at 7am tomorrow to get ready for school, but I'm not. Instead I'm doing this. So be happy. Kami help me, I won't be able to answer any questions tomorrow!

This chapter took a shorter amount of time than the first, though it might be because my parents had purchased me a new bluetooth keyboard for my iPad mini. Basically I got to work on this chapter anywhere I go, since I also got Evernote. I believe this chapter has the most amount of pauses and continues than any of my other fics (though the time between them isn't too great). Also... A tip: don't work on your fics when your friends are around, they will just mash at your keyboard and render your work time useless.

I used a lot of Japanese food here, not sure why. Maybe because I was hungry when I wrote this. Also, when I looked into Japanese food, I realize how they are just exactly the same as Chinese food, just with different names (not very different though) and different fillings; mostly with red bean paste. I hate red beans.

Japanese glossary (alphabetical order)-

_anko _- red bean paste  
_daifuku _- glutinous rice cake stuffed with sweet filling  
_daimyo _- feudal lord  
_futon _- traditional Japanese bedding  
_imagawayaki _- batter cake filled with sweet red bean paste  
_kami _- god  
_kamon _- family crest; usually placed on _kimonos_  
_kimono _- traditional Japanese garment  
_manjū _- wheat cake with red bean paste filling  
_natto _- fermented soy beans  
_sakura _(tree) - cherry blossom (tree)  
_sata andagi _- sweet, deep fried buns of dough  
_sencha _- green tea  
_taiyaki _- fish shaped cake  
_tamagoyaki _- rolled omelet  
_tatami _- floor matting  
_uirō _- steamed cake  
_washi _- style of paper from Japan


End file.
